CHITRAL: In a major boost to public-sector education in remote border areas, Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH) on Saturday handed over two newly refurbished primary school buildings to the Lower Chitral education department.
Ceremonies to this effect were held in border villages of Wakht and Gobor Bakh in Garam Chashma region.
Lower Chitral Deputy Commissioner Ihsanullah unveiled inaugural plaques at both schools, accompanied by AKAH regional programme manager Iltaf Hussain Shah and District Education Officer (DEO) Shahid Hussain, along with local community elders and civil society representatives.
Funded by the Pakistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan Regional Integration Programme (PATRIP) Foundation, the extensive rehabilitation project carried out by AKAH breathed new life into the decades-old institutions.
The upgrade included the construction of additional classrooms and modern washrooms, solarisation of buildings, the installation of safety razor wires on boundary walls, and the provision of accessibility ramps for children with special needs.
Furthermore, the project introduced “green retrofitting” to the existing classrooms to ensure environmental sustainability and structural resilience against local natural hazards.
Speaking at the ceremonies, chairmen of parent-teacher councils Sher Azam of the Wakht school and Ismail Khan of Gobor Bakh school expressed their profound gratitude and immense satisfaction with the quality of the restoration work.
“These schools were established back in the 1980s, and for over 40 years, the buildings received no maintenance while basic facilities remained virtually non-existent,” they stated.
“The high-quality refurbishment has gone far beyond our community’s expectations. Our children are now showing a renewed enthusiasm for coming to school. Even previously out-of-school children in the area are now yearning to be enroled here.”
Addressing the communities, DC Ihsanullah commended AKAH’s swift and reliable interventions in both disaster relief and infrastructure development across the district.
He noted that Chitral boasts an exemplary school enrolment rate within the province, attributing this success to the collaborative efforts of development organisations like AKAH.
AKAH’s Iltaf Shah highlighted the technical aspects of the project, explaining that the green retrofitting technique makes the school buildings exceptionally safe against seismic activities and earthquakes.
He also revealed that similar refurbishment and structural upgrade works are currently underway at four additional public schools in the Upper Chitral district.
DEO Shahid Hussain praised the standard of the new facilities and urged parents to maximise enrollment.
Published in Dawn, November 1st, 2026
